A number of businesses offer money transfer and other services through a network of agents. A customer that desires to use these services to transfer money to a third party can take the money to an agent of the money transfer service. The agent accepts the money, obtains necessary information such as the customer's identity and the identity of the receiver, and initiates a transaction. The money is then made available to the receiver by another agent.
Many countries have laws and regulations (compliance requirements) relating to money transfer and similar activities. These regulations often specify limits on the nature and amount of transactions, the types of information that must be collected in connection with these activities, and associated reporting requirements. For example, a country may have a rule in place that stipulates that an individual may only send or receive a specific amount of money in a year, or that businesses providing money transfer services must report how much money was transferred by a consumer out of the country during the course of the year. In addition, some countries may require collection of additional information such as a phone number or birthdate. These compliance requirements can vary with a variety of factors such as the country where the transfer originates, the country to which funds are being transferred, the amount of the transfer, and the number of transfers by the customer.